UW Report of Minimum Wage Law in Seattle Loss of Jobs Disputed by U Cal Researcher

Seattle: Marching for Science in our gentle rain

Last week, two reports on Seattle’s minimum wage ordinance reached opposite conclusions. Researchers at the University of Washington found that Seattle’s minimum wage is costing jobs. A second report, requested by the the Mayor’s Office, claimed that the UW study was false.

The University of Washington study found that while wages for low-earners rose by 3 percent since the law went into effect, hours for those workers dropped by 9 percent. The average worker making less than $19 an hour in Seattle has seen a total loss of $125 a month since the law went into effect.